Just like in the blockbuster series “The Lord of the Rings”, the Eye of Mordor is always open. Until now, its focus has been on larger battles and more interesting things. Then a Hobbit found a golden ring and slipped it on his finger. And the Eye started paying attention to this little being that had avoided the Eye’s gaze… until now.

The intersection of advertising, marketing, and compliance is not easy to navigate. It seems as if each week, rulings are being rendered from one of the myriad of regulatory bodies making it more difficult for dealers to know what they should – and should not – be doing in regards to social media in order to stay compliant. In an effort to bring clarity to an increasingly confusing and misunderstood topic, I sat down with Jim Radogna, the president of Dealer Compliance Consultants, to get some answers.

 

Arnold Tijerina: I believe dealers aren’t vigilant enough ensuring that social media performed on behalf of the dealership meets the same compliance rules and standards that all of their other advertising requires. It’s sort of like an afterthought to them. What are your thoughts?

Jim Radogna: Very true. First, many dealers aren’t aware that advertising regulations apply to social media every bit as much as traditional media. Advertising regulations don’t go away despite the fact that social media tends to be a low-key, casual type of communication. In fact, The FTC recently updated its document Dot Com Disclosures: Information About Online Advertising. The primary focus of the publication, which was first issued in 2000, is to inform advertisers that consumer protection laws and the requirement to provide clear and conspicuous disclosures applies to the online world in addition to the offline world.

So in a nutshell, if inventory is posted or prices/payments are quoted on social media it’s likely that the posts will be deemed to be advertisements and will be subject to state and federal disclosure and truth in advertising regulations. Lack of space is no excuse either. Even if you’re advertising on Twitter and are limited to 140 characters, you must include a clear link to any necessary disclosures.

Next, even if the dealer is aware of these facts, it’s likely that dealership employees and/or vendors posting to social media do not have the same level of awareness.

AT: I’ve interacted with some dealers who operate under strict compliance conformity across all advertising – including social media – and others that don’t feel the need to adhere to the same rules when it comes to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. It certainly wouldn’t seem to be unreasonable to assume that most dealers know compliance rules for their advertising. Why do you think they view social media differently?

JR: Until recently, virtually all enforcement actions for non-compliant advertising have been focused on traditional media, so this is a brand new area. In my experience, most dealers have a limited understanding of what constitutes “advertising” in the eyes of the powers that be. When dealers place an ad in the local newspaper, on the radio or TV, it’s pretty evident to them that they’re advertising and that they need to be diligent in following state and local compliance guidelines. But they don’t tend to think of social media as formal “advertising” because their intention isn’t to advertise their products and services on the social networks as much as to engage with customers, brand themselves and showcase their inventory. It really is an innocent mistake in many instances. The problem is that any time they mention prices, payments, interest rates, or the availability of financing etc. – anywhere – certain disclosure requirements are triggered.

So, a dealer or ad agency that is diligent about being compliant in their advertising may have their attorneys or a compliance consultant, like myself, review every one of their ads, mailers, TV commercials, and radio spots before publication, but not even think about having their social media posts reviewed because they simply don’t realize that these are considered “advertising”.

Another area where dealers are vulnerable on social media is transfer from traditional media. Here are a few examples: The dealer may have a full page print ad in their local paper that is fully compliant, but when they post a reduced-size pdf of the ad on Facebook, all of a sudden the fully-legible and compliant disclosure on the bottom of the newspaper ad is now unreadable. Instead of being 10-point type, it’s now 4-point type because of the size reduction. Another example is the TV commercial that’s posted on YouTube and shared on the social networks. Again, the disclosure on the bottom of the screen may be easily readable on TV but becomes indecipherable on a computer or mobile device.

AT: A recent FTC ruling regarding personal bias disclosure across all social media platforms seems to have lead some dealers into believing that simply adding a notation that the content is an “Ad” or “Sponsored” – whether in the ad or with the use of hashtags such as #ad and/or #sponsored – is enough to be compliant. To my knowledge, while the FTC ruling is certainly applicable when it comes to employees sharing dealership offers and specials on their personal social networks, it doesn’t negate obligation by the dealer to add necessary disclaimers. Do you agree?

JR: Absolutely. Dealers may face liability if employees use social media to promote their employer’s services or products without disclosing the employment relationship. The FTC requires the disclosure of all “material connections.” These connections can be any relationship that could affect the credibility a consumer gives to statements, such as an employment or business relationship. So if employees, friends, family or vendors post on a dealer’s behalf, they should clearly disclose any relationship they have with the company. It’s all about transparency and full disclosure.

AT: As social media use by dealers grow, what are the most important things that dealers should be aware of in regards to how they use social media?

JR: There are a number of legal considerations that every company should be aware of when establishing their social media policies and procedures, such as social media use in employment decisions; posting of online reviews, testimonials and endorsements; ‘fake’ and paid-for reviews; advertising on social media; potential overtime claims; harassment, discrimination and defamation claims; copyright and privacy issues.

AT: Should dealers be concerned by how their employee’s use social media and, if so, how do you recommend that dealerships protect themselves and/or decrease liability in this regard?

JR: It’s important for dealers to craft a social media policy that’s both practical and legally defensible. They can protect themselves by insisting that participants in their social media programs comply with the law and training them how to do it. The FTC specifically says these steps may limit potential liability and will be considered in any prosecution. According to FTC guidelines, “The Commission agrees that the establishment of appropriate procedures would warrant consideration in its decision as to whether law enforcement action would be an appropriate use of agency resources. The Commission is not aware of any instance in which an enforcement action was brought against a company for the actions of a single ‘rogue’ employee who violated established company policy that adequately covered the conduct in question.”

AT: The FTC has been increasing the attention it is paying to business and social media and has recently been vocal about their intentions to enforce compliance regardless of where the advertisement resides specifically mentioning social media. How do you believe this increased action and attention by the FTC will affect dealers in the future in regards to social media?

JR: What’s become abundantly clear through recent federal and state advertising enforcement actions against dealers is that regulators are trolling through the digital world to find dealer violations. For instance, the FTC has cited many ads recently from websites and YouTube. It stands to reason that social networks are their next logical target. Let’s face it, it’s far easier for regulators to perform digital searches for violations than to read countless newspaper ads or listen to radio commercials.

My suggestion is to train every employee and every vendor that posts to the dealer’s social networks or may post on the dealer’s behalf on their own networks. Next, constantly audit all posts, either internally or by utilizing a qualified professional, to ensure compliance. Dealers are ultimately responsible the actions of their employees and any vendors they hire.

AT: Thank you, Jim. I appreciate your taking the time to help bring more clarity about this topic to dealers.

About Jim Radogna

Before founding Dealer Compliance Consultants, Jim Radogna developed a strong background in dealership operations, having spent over 15 years in dealership management. His experience includes working in diversified roles including sales manager, F&I director, general manager, and training director. In addition, he served as compliance officer for a large auto group, where he developed and integrated a comprehensive compliance program. Being well-versed in all aspects of dealership operations, Jim and his team have used their knowledge and industry experience to develop unique, no-nonsense compliance and reputation management solutions for automobile dealerships of all sizes. These programs are designed to not only protect dealerships from liability but also greatly enhance the company’s reputation, increase profitability through consistent processes, and increase customer satisfaction and retention.

Jim is a sought-after speaker and frequent contributor to several automotive industry publications including Dealer Magazine, WardsAuto, Auto Dealer Monthly, DrivingSales Dealership Innovation Guide, AutoSuccess, and F&I Magazine.

Most of us are familiar with the telephone game. For those that haven’t played, the game is very simple. A group of people stands in a line. A simple sentence, starting with the first person, is whispered into the next person’s ear one by one until the message reaches the end of the line. Typically, the sentence that is revealed by the person at the end of the line is significantly different than the one that was started with.

Just as in the game, this phenomenon of simple miscommunication exists in the workplace. Once you realize just how easily spoken communications can be changed inadvertently, the importance of effectively communicating is reinforced. Car dealerships are particularly prone to this given the complexity of many of the activities occurring. If a salesperson misunderstands the sales manager when working a deal with a customer, it can alter the rapport and general experience for that customer significantly. When a service advisor communicates with a customer ineffectively, the same thing can happen.

The obvious solution is accurate and detailed documentation in every customer and internal transaction. That being said, there are simply too many things happening and sound bites of information being exchanged that recording everything would be laborious and inefficient.

The solution lies in ensuring that you have processes and technology in place that record and track everything related to a customer’s transaction with your dealership in the most time-efficient manner possible. In addition, you should take the time to train your staff some basic effective communication skills. Simply understanding these basic concepts will help avoid misunderstandings.

1. How You Relay Information Matters – People learn and retain information in different ways. Think about when you were in school. Did you retain information better by reading the textbook or listening to the lecture? The same applies in the workplace. Some people retain information better and more accurately when it’s delivered to them in a visual manner while some prefer to have it spoken to them. By learning how each of your co-workers best process information you’ll increase the effectiveness of communications and decrease the likelihood of mistakes and misunderstandings.
2. The Content Relayed Must Be Tailored for Each Individual – This simply means that everyone must be cognizant of the knowledge level of the person that they are speaking to. A service advisor and technician can have much more complex and technical conversations about what’s going on with a customer’s car than they may be able to with the cashier or receptionist. A finance manager may be able to interact with a sales manager on a higher level than they can with a customer or salesperson. When you are interacting with someone and they will be relaying information to another person, make sure that you are speaking to their level of knowledge so that they understand what you are saying. Most miscommunication occurs simply because the recipient didn’t understand exactly what he or she was told and this can cause a lot of problems that could have been avoided. This is especially true when the information is being relayed to a customer.

By understanding these two fundamental concepts, you’ll be able to increase the effectiveness of communication between all employees and reduce the probability that miscommunications occur. By doing this, you’ll create a powerful environment that will allow you to operate more efficiently which will translate into a more efficient workplace, better customer experiences and increased revenue.

Most of us are familiar with the telephone game. For those that haven’t played, the game is very simple. A group of people stands in a line. A simple sentence, starting with the first person, is whispered into the next person’s ear one by one until the message reaches the end of the line. Typically, the sentence that is revealed by the person at the end of the line is significantly different than the one that was started with.

Just as in the game, this phenomenon of simple miscommunication exists in the workplace. Once you realize just how easily spoken communications can be changed inadvertently, the importance of effectively communicating is reinforced. Car dealerships are particularly prone to this given the complexity of many of the activities occurring. If a salesperson misunderstands the sales manager when working a deal with a customer, it can alter the rapport and general experience for that customer significantly. When a service advisor communicates with a customer ineffectively, the same thing can happen.

The obvious solution is accurate and detailed documentation in every customer and internal transaction. That being said, there are simply too many things happening and sound bites of information being exchanged that recording everything would be laborious and inefficient.

The solution lies in ensuring that you have processes and technology in place that record and track everything related to a customer’s transaction with your dealership in the most time-efficient manner possible. In addition, you should take the time to train your staff some basic effective communication skills. Simply understanding these basic concepts will help avoid misunderstandings.

1. How You Relay Information Matters – People learn and retain information in different ways. Think about when you were in school. Did you retain information better by reading the textbook or listening to the lecture? The same applies in the workplace. Some people retain information better and more accurately when it’s delivered to them in a visual manner while some prefer to have it spoken to them. By learning how each of your co-workers best process information you’ll increase the effectiveness of communications and decrease the likelihood of mistakes and misunderstandings.
2. The Content Relayed Must Be Tailored for Each Individual – This simply means that everyone must be cognizant of the knowledge level of the person that they are speaking to. A service advisor and technician can have much more complex and technical conversations about what’s going on with a customer’s car than they may be able to with the cashier or receptionist. A finance manager may be able to interact with a sales manager on a higher level than they can with a customer or salesperson. When you are interacting with someone and they will be relaying information to another person, make sure that you are speaking to their level of knowledge so that they understand what you are saying. Most miscommunication occurs simply because the recipient didn’t understand exactly what he or she was told and this can cause a lot of problems that could have been avoided. This is especially true when the information is being relayed to a customer.

By understanding these two fundamental concepts, you’ll be able to increase the effectiveness of communication between all employees and reduce the probability that miscommunications occur. By doing this, you’ll create a powerful environment that will allow you to operate more efficiently which will translate into a more efficient workplace, better customer experiences and increased revenue.

“…there is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” – Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

In 1890, Oscar Wilde wrote this quote in his classic book “The Picture of Dorian Gray”. The character, Lord Henry, says this to a painter when the painter expresses his desire not to show a painting. While this certainly wasn’t the beginning, one could say that this quote perfectly expresses the desire of most businesses and is just as true today as it was 124 years ago.

The goal of any business is simple: to be talked about. This includes all areas of public interaction including advertising, promotion, publicity, public relations, social media and reputation management. A story that illustrates a few of these involves the circus and an elephant.

“If the circus is coming to town and you paint a sign saying “Circus Coming to the Fairground this Saturday,” that’s advertising. If you put a sign on the back of an elephant and walk it into town, that’s promotion. If the elephant walks through the mayor’s flower bed, that’s publicity… and if you get the mayor to laugh about it, that’s public relations.”

To bring that story current, you could add:

As people start talking about the elephant trampling the rose garden, that’s social media. And, by apologizing and repairing the flowerbed of the mayor, that’s reputation management.

No matter which area illustrated above you are discussing, the goal is to get people talking about you. Sometimes, what they are saying is unflattering. In these cases, you have two choices, to address the issue or to embrace it. Most experts in publicity, public relations, social media and reputation management would advise that you address the problem in one way or another. Sometimes that involves telling your side of the story publicly. Sometimes it involves making the issue right for your customer. And sometimes it involves embracing it and finding opportunities.

When the creators of South Park released their uber-popular musical, “The Book of Mormon”, the Mormon Church had several options. They could raise a big fuss about it that probably would have assisted the musical itself in achieving more buzz and publicity. Instead, initially, they chose to essentially ignore it. In a great article by an Episcopal priest, she described how the Mormon Church, when confronted with the popularity the show had achieved, made the decision to use the show as a means of proselytizing. Missionaries began handing out books and pamphlets in front of the theaters. The Church itself began advertising in the actual playbills. And what they found was that theatregoers were interested in learning more. Certainly the musical itself mocks their religion but they believe that it doesn’t matter which path a person takes to embrace their beliefs.

The Mormon Church realized that this musical attracted people that were more than likely not Mormon and didn’t understand their religion. Rather than sitting by idly and being the butt of this musical “joke”, they saw this as an opportunity to educate theatergoers and spread their message. And it worked. According to the article “street contacting” is one of the “traditional ways for missionaries to reach potential converts.” This practice is challenging and they might only give out a few copies of their Scriptures each day. When a couple of missionaries chose to hand out Scriptures in front of a theatre showing the musical, however, they gave out an entire box of books in under an hour.

Just as in Oscar Wilde’s famous quote, the Church discovered that having people talking about you is better than not having them talk about you. The Mormon Church saw this opportunity and capitalized on it. In their story, after the elephant tramples the mayor’s rose garden, rather than trying to explain to everyone why the elephant was bad, they shared the beauty of rose gardens. 

And more people stopped to smell the roses.

“…there is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” – Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

In 1890, Oscar Wilde wrote this quote in his classic book “The Picture of Dorian Gray”. The character, Lord Henry, says this to a painter when the painter expresses his desire not to show a painting. While this certainly wasn’t the beginning, one could say that this quote perfectly expresses the desire of most businesses and is just as true today as it was 124 years ago.

The goal of any business is simple: to be talked about. This includes all areas of public interaction including advertising, promotion, publicity, public relations, social media and reputation management. A story that illustrates a few of these involves the circus and an elephant.

“If the circus is coming to town and you paint a sign saying “Circus Coming to the Fairground this Saturday,” that’s advertising. If you put a sign on the back of an elephant and walk it into town, that’s promotion. If the elephant walks through the mayor’s flower bed, that’s publicity… and if you get the mayor to laugh about it, that’s public relations.”

To bring that story current, you could add:

As people start talking about the elephant trampling the rose garden, that’s social media. And, by apologizing and repairing the flowerbed of the mayor, that’s reputation management.

No matter which area illustrated above you are discussing, the goal is to get people talking about you. Sometimes, what they are saying is unflattering. In these cases, you have two choices, to address the issue or to embrace it. Most experts in publicity, public relations, social media and reputation management would advise that you address the problem in one way or another. Sometimes that involves telling your side of the story publicly. Sometimes it involves making the issue right for your customer. And sometimes it involves embracing it and finding opportunities.

When the creators of South Park released their uber-popular musical, “The Book of Mormon”, the Mormon Church had several options. They could raise a big fuss about it that probably would have assisted the musical itself in achieving more buzz and publicity. Instead, initially, they chose to essentially ignore it. In a great article by an Episcopal priest, she described how the Mormon Church, when confronted with the popularity the show had achieved, made the decision to use the show as a means of proselytizing. Missionaries began handing out books and pamphlets in front of the theaters. The Church itself began advertising in the actual playbills. And what they found was that theatregoers were interested in learning more. Certainly the musical itself mocks their religion but they believe that it doesn’t matter which path a person takes to embrace their beliefs.

The Mormon Church realized that this musical attracted people that were more than likely not Mormon and didn’t understand their religion. Rather than sitting by idly and being the butt of this musical “joke”, they saw this as an opportunity to educate theatergoers and spread their message. And it worked. According to the article “street contacting” is one of the “traditional ways for missionaries to reach potential converts.” This practice is challenging and they might only give out a few copies of their Scriptures each day. When a couple of missionaries chose to hand out Scriptures in front of a theatre showing the musical, however, they gave out an entire box of books in under an hour.

Just as in Oscar Wilde’s famous quote, the Church discovered that having people talking about you is better than not having them talk about you. The Mormon Church saw this opportunity and capitalized on it. In their story, after the elephant tramples the mayor’s rose garden, rather than trying to explain to everyone why the elephant was bad, they shared the beauty of rose gardens. 

And more people stopped to smell the roses.

“While everyone ran in panic, Roselle remained totally focused on her job.”

Sometimes life gets hectic. We try to focus on and accomplish too many things at the same time. We have deadlines to meet, customers vying for our attention, fires to put out and countless voicemails and e-mails to respond to. In a world where employers consider multi-tasking a desirable trait, we’re taught from a very young age that this is a necessary skill. Sometimes, by focusing on too many things at once, we end up not focusing on anything at all.

A customer’s experience in your dealership is completely dependent on your focus. They can’t multi-task their way to a solution. Only you have that. I realize that on a busy weekend at a dealership there are times when you’re being pulled in multiple directions. To a customer, however, they are the sun that everything revolves around.

“While debris fell around us, and even hit us, Roselle stayed calm."

The most successful business people know that you must treat each customer as if they are your only one. Customers intuitively know when chaos is present – whether by observation or intuition. No matter how busy you are, by stopping and giving a customer… any customer… your undivided attention, not only will you be more effective in resolving their problem but you will also instill in them a feeling of gratitude and, if you’re lucky, loyalty.

“We were forced to stop often and we took those opportunities to encourage each other with a quiet word, a joke, or a gentle pat on the back.” 

Don’t forget that you have a team. Teamwork is crucial in these moments of chaos. The ultimate goal is to provide a solution that is satisfactory to the customer. Maybe you aren’t the right person to efficiently guide the customer down the path to a resolution. In these times, what typically happens is that you’re forced to get someone else involved. A great team knows each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Each member knows the best player for every situation and gets them involved immediately.

“…we must choose to trust those leaders who must also work hard earn to our trust through wise and timely decision making.”

As a manager, sometimes you are the one being asked to resolve problems. You are the ones being asked to multi-task. You are the one who is focusing on so many things at once that you lose focus. Your team looks to you to guide them in these moments of chaos. You must be able to focus on the single most important task you have: the customer standing in front of you. If you’re trying to desk and close deals while answering the phone and helping customers, you’ll accomplish a little bit of everything but a lot of nothing. Be a leader who shows customers that they are the most important task at that moment and follow through with that promise. Not only will you end up with a happy customer, you will also become a role model for the future managers on your team.

“Don’t stop until the work is over; sometimes being a hero is just doing your job.” 

Be a hero to your customers and your team. That’s what great leaders are. Every one of us has someone in our lives that we consider our mentor in life. Be that mentor to your team and guide them through the chaos by remaining calm despite it. Teach them that the customer in front of you is the only one that matters. Reinforce it by following your own advice. They will notice and they will buy in.

These lessons originated from an unlikely source. Roselle, you see, is a dog. Her owner is blind. He also happened to work in the World Trade Center and was on the 78^th floor when planes flew into the building. There were an estimated 17,400 people in the Twin Towers when this horrible event occurred. Not only did Roselle guide her owner down 1,463 stairs to safety but she was also “giving doggie kisses to each and every firefighter who climbed past us up the stairs.”

“While debris fell around us, and even hit us, Roselle stayed calm."

In the midst of all of this chaos, Roselle focused on a single task. She led her owner outside and, despite the chaos and falling debris, found the nearest subway station and led her owner underground.

Roselle was honored as the American Hero Dog of the Year. While she isn’t with us anymore physically, her memory and lessons stay with us to this day. Roselle wasn’t just any dog. Roselle was a highly trained guide dog that had a single job to do for a single customer – her owner. Had she not been trained, she couldn’t accomplish this task with the laser focus that she must have had to navigate down one of only three stairwells along with 17,000 other people for 78 floors to achieve her goal.

“Sometimes the way is hard, but if we work together, we will make it down the stairs.” 

Never forget.

Roselle

[Credits: The Today Show, Fox News and Wikipedia]

“While everyone ran in panic, Roselle remained totally focused on her job.”

Sometimes life gets hectic. We try to focus on and accomplish too many things at the same time. We have deadlines to meet, customers vying for our attention, fires to put out and countless voicemails and e-mails to respond to. In a world where employers consider multi-tasking a desirable trait, we’re taught from a very young age that this is a necessary skill. Sometimes, by focusing on too many things at once, we end up not focusing on anything at all.

A customer’s experience in your dealership is completely dependent on your focus. They can’t multi-task their way to a solution. Only you have that. I realize that on a busy weekend at a dealership there are times when you’re being pulled in multiple directions. To a customer, however, they are the sun that everything revolves around.

“While debris fell around us, and even hit us, Roselle stayed calm."

The most successful business people know that you must treat each customer as if they are your only one. Customers intuitively know when chaos is present – whether by observation or intuition. No matter how busy you are, by stopping and giving a customer… any customer… your undivided attention, not only will you be more effective in resolving their problem but you will also instill in them a feeling of gratitude and, if you’re lucky, loyalty.

“We were forced to stop often and we took those opportunities to encourage each other with a quiet word, a joke, or a gentle pat on the back.” 

Don’t forget that you have a team. Teamwork is crucial in these moments of chaos. The ultimate goal is to provide a solution that is satisfactory to the customer. Maybe you aren’t the right person to efficiently guide the customer down the path to a resolution. In these times, what typically happens is that you’re forced to get someone else involved. A great team knows each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Each member knows the best player for every situation and gets them involved immediately.

“…we must choose to trust those leaders who must also work hard earn to our trust through wise and timely decision making.”

As a manager, sometimes you are the one being asked to resolve problems. You are the ones being asked to multi-task. You are the one who is focusing on so many things at once that you lose focus. Your team looks to you to guide them in these moments of chaos. You must be able to focus on the single most important task you have: the customer standing in front of you. If you’re trying to desk and close deals while answering the phone and helping customers, you’ll accomplish a little bit of everything but a lot of nothing. Be a leader who shows customers that they are the most important task at that moment and follow through with that promise. Not only will you end up with a happy customer, you will also become a role model for the future managers on your team.

“Don’t stop until the work is over; sometimes being a hero is just doing your job.” 

Be a hero to your customers and your team. That’s what great leaders are. Every one of us has someone in our lives that we consider our mentor in life. Be that mentor to your team and guide them through the chaos by remaining calm despite it. Teach them that the customer in front of you is the only one that matters. Reinforce it by following your own advice. They will notice and they will buy in.

These lessons originated from an unlikely source. Roselle, you see, is a dog. Her owner is blind. He also happened to work in the World Trade Center and was on the 78^th floor when planes flew into the building. There were an estimated 17,400 people in the Twin Towers when this horrible event occurred. Not only did Roselle guide her owner down 1,463 stairs to safety but she was also “giving doggie kisses to each and every firefighter who climbed past us up the stairs.”

“While debris fell around us, and even hit us, Roselle stayed calm."

In the midst of all of this chaos, Roselle focused on a single task. She led her owner outside and, despite the chaos and falling debris, found the nearest subway station and led her owner underground.

Roselle was honored as the American Hero Dog of the Year. While she isn’t with us anymore physically, her memory and lessons stay with us to this day. Roselle wasn’t just any dog. Roselle was a highly trained guide dog that had a single job to do for a single customer – her owner. Had she not been trained, she couldn’t accomplish this task with the laser focus that she must have had to navigate down one of only three stairwells along with 17,000 other people for 78 floors to achieve her goal.

“Sometimes the way is hard, but if we work together, we will make it down the stairs.” 

Never forget.

Roselle

[Credits: The Today Show, Fox News and Wikipedia]

Yesterday, a good friend of mine, Joe Webb, President of DealerKnows Consulting, posted a news article on his Facebook wall that got all sorts of comments from his friends.

In summary, the article involved a car dealership in Chicago who, on the day after their loss to the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game, fired a salesperson for wearing to work, and refusing to remove, a Green Bay Packers tie.

Article: Packer Backer fired for wearing Green Bay Tie

Most of the discussion centered around whether it was legal to fire this employee for refusing to remove the tie. Some of it questioned this salesperson's right to wear it.

Was the employer justified in firing him?

Did the employee have the right to wear it at work? 

What do you think?

Yesterday, a good friend of mine, Joe Webb, President of DealerKnows Consulting, posted a news article on his Facebook wall that got all sorts of comments from his friends.

In summary, the article involved a car dealership in Chicago who, on the day after their loss to the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game, fired a salesperson for wearing to work, and refusing to remove, a Green Bay Packers tie.

Article: Packer Backer fired for wearing Green Bay Tie

Most of the discussion centered around whether it was legal to fire this employee for refusing to remove the tie. Some of it questioned this salesperson's right to wear it.

Was the employer justified in firing him?

Did the employee have the right to wear it at work? 

What do you think?